Manhatta

Manhatta (1921) is a short documentary film directed by painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand.

This article is about the 1921 film. For the New York City borough, see Manhattan.
Manhatta
Directed byCharles Sheeler
Paul Strand
Release date
1921
Running time
10 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent film
English intertitles

Production background

Manhatta documents the look of early 20th-century Manhattan. With the city as subject, the film consists of 65 shots sequenced in a loose non-narrative structure, beginning with the Staten Island ferry approaching Manhattan and ending with a sunset view from a skyscraper. It is considered by some to be the first American avant-garde film.[1] The primary objective of the film is to explore the relationship between photography and film; camera movement is kept to a minimum, as is incidental motion within each shot. Each frame provides a view of the city that has been carefully arranged into abstract compositions.[2]

Manhatta was a collaboration between painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand. The intertitles include excerpts from the writings of Walt Whitman.

Preservation status

In 1995 the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress, selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, and was restored for the DVD set Unseen Cinema in October 2005. The film was completely restored in January 2009 by archivist Bruce Posner, working with film restoration company Lowry Digital.[3] Posner spent close to four years returning the film to its original glory. The Museum of Modern Art and Anthology Film Archives also commissioned a new score from New York composer Donald Sosin.[4]

See also

References
  1. Gerstner, David (2006). Manly Arts: Masculinity and Nation in Early American Cinema. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 119–64. ISBN 978-0822337638.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-08. Retrieved 2009-12-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Filmography". Lowry Digital. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  4. Willis, Holly (2009-01-19). "Proud and Passionate City". Blur + Sharpen. KCET Online / Community Television of Southern California. Retrieved 2009-06-28.


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